Wesly Menard
the artist
University of Florida. USA
Wesly S. Menard is an American computer scientist of Haïtian descent whose research centers on Human-Computer Interaction with a focus on collaborative exercise technologies and physiological data visualization
the artwork
Ann f'on ti poze
Creole - Let’s take a break - 2025 - acrylic and spray paint on Canvas - 60.96cm x 45.72 cm
9 days - 5 hours - 59 minutes
audio commentary
I wanted to merge my academic work with my lived experience as a research scholar along with the perplexity, the chaos, and the growth. The background embodies the disarray of the process with layers of contrasting patterns symbolizing different phases of time, uncertainty, and emotional turbulence. The HR zones, commonly used in athletic training, mirror levels of stress and effort. Ideally, one trains mostly in zone two, the calm blue, but the distorted shapes show how, much like academic life, the reality often deviates from balance. This work is both a self-portrait and a commentary.
Wesly Menard
mathematics in Haïtian culture
The red and blue of the clock flies the Haïtian flag while the clock’s hands are represented by the island’s shape and contour. Time in Haïti is presently and eternally fluid, as are the boundaries of here, there, and the afterlife. Time is not linear and is often structured in cycles or even circles embodied as ritualistic movements such as folkloric dances around center posts called “potomitan”. This work tries to capture this fluidity with its arched lines and pulsating waves.